A three-point heavy, sloppy first half turned into a precision laced point fest for the Purdue Boilermakers as they handled the Purdue Fort-Wayne Mastodons 93-62 in a rare road exhibition game to a mid-major venue.
The first half saw Purdue fire up more field goal attempts from outside the three-point line than inside it, continuuing a trend from Purdue’s first exhibition of the season. Purdue was 9 of 23 in the first half with Omer Mayer knocking down 2 of his 3 attempts and Antione West knocking down 4 of his 6.
But Purdue would find balance in the second half, executing its way through sets to easy looks inside. Daniel Jacobsen would get a hook shot to fall inside then find Caden Pierce a couple plays later cutting baseline for a two handed dunk.
Enzo Shahrvin would then be rewarded for a hard cut to the hoop with an Omer Mayer assist that gave the Frenchman an easy left handed lay up.
On the Mastodons next possession, Shahrvin would poke a pass, take the steal up court, and then show off his hops by throwing down an air man dunk for a quick four point burst.
At this point, Purdue was pulling away from the game.
Omer Mayer’s third three-pointer would give the Boilermakers a 76-50 lead with around seven minutes to play as head coach Matt Painter continued to figure out his young rotation going into the season.
Purdue’s win against the Mastodons would be its second exhibition win of the season after defeating Ball State in Mackey Arena on Sunday.
Purdue will now set its sights on its final exhibition game of the season where it will head to Hartford, Conn. to take on the UCONN Huskies program that beat Purdue for the National Title a few years ago in Phoenix.
Purdue leads on the glass
Purdue stayed ahead in the first half by dominating the glass gaining a 19-9 on the glass, including holding the Mastodons to zero offensive rebounds in the first half. At one point, Purdue had a 16-0 edge on second chance points. Purdue’s guards have done a good job being aggressive on the both sides of the ball, helping out Purdue’s bigs on the glass and it helped cover up some poor shooting in the first half.
Purdue finished with a 42-17 edge on the glass with Jack Benter leading the way with 10 rebounds.
Omer Mayer takes point
Mayer had his most convincing minutes as Purdue’s point guard successor. Mayer had a control of Purdue’s sets and players that helped Purdue get in an early groove in the second half. It didn’t hurt that his shot was falling. Mayer hit three of his first four three-pointers to go along with his four assists.
Mayer finished the game with 15 points to go with the assists and grabbed two boards. More importantly, Purdue looked precise and controlled in a way they weren’t when he wasn’t on the floor. That control and true point guard ability is something Purdue is looking to replace with the loss of Braden Smith. Mayer took a big step forward in Purdue’s second exhibition game.
Guards lead the way
Antione West had 16 points, Omer Mayer had 15, and CJ Cox had 13 as Purdue’s back court dominated scoring for Purdue. Cox was an efficient 6 of 9 from the floor, while Mayer and West combined to make 7 of Purdue’s 13 three-pointers on the night. Purdue’s guards look to be the strength of the team and it showed tonight.